[VIDEO] Michael Jordan 1 on 1 with Toni Kukoc [1 on 1 plays]

[PETRO2222]

:cheers:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7JwI06Jazk

[aceman]

Thanks for posting this. Toni lit him up

[plowking]

Kukoc was a special player.

Under different circumstances he would have been leading a team. 6'10, matchup problem for anyone, could shoot, was long and could cause problems on defense at least on the help side of things. One of the best passers out there.

Given reign to run his own thing, he is probably a 24/6/6 type guy.

[TheGoatest]

Kukoc was a special player.

Under different circumstances he would have been leading a team. 6'10, matchup problem for anyone, could shoot, was long and could cause problems on defense at least on the help side of things. One of the best passers out there.

Given reign to run his own thing, he is probably a 24/6/6 type guy.

He spent his early career as being the distant 4th best player on the Bulls, yet as soon as Jordan/Pippen/Rodman left and he had the Bulls to himself, he averaged 19, 7, and 5.

[Phoenix]

He spent his early career as being the distant 4th best player on the Bulls, yet as soon as Jordan/Pippen/Rodman left and he had the Bulls to himself, he averaged 19, 7, and 5.

On very low efficiency IIRC. I think the best version of Kukoc to post those numbers Plowking mentioned was during the Bulls 3 peat years. And best case it's probably for a middle of the road team. I dont think Kukoc could drop 22/7/7( my personal guesstimates) on any team with title aspirations. Very good player, obviously.

[aceman]

He spent his early career as being the distant 4th best player on the Bulls, yet as soon as Jordan/Pippen/Rodman left and he had the Bulls to himself, he averaged 19, 7, and 5.

There was a guy here who posts about the 2nd three peat bulls (not 97bulls) who pointed out Kukoc finished in top 20 in advanced stats for offensive rating, win shares, value over replacement. kukoc was top class & stats back it up.

[aceman]

On very low efficiency IIRC. I think the best version of Kukoc to post those numbers Plowking mentioned was during the Bulls 3 peat years. And best case it's probably for a middle of the road team. I dont think Kukoc could drop 22/7/7( my personal guesstimates) on any team with title aspirations. Very good player, obviously.

1999 team didn't do him any favours.

[Phoenix]

1999 team didn't do him any favours.

No, but if memory serves by that point wasn't he dealing with injuries? I think 95 to 98 Kukoc is the best version of him to drop the numbers being listed here.

[NBAGOAT]

I’m gonna say he do best in a poor mans ginobili role. So maybe 18/6/5 as a 2-3rd option on a good but not close to the bulls lvl team. Tbf ginobili just wasn’t capable of playing heavy minutes kukoc did a few years

[Lebron23]

3ball said Toni Kukoc was as good as Luka Doncic. And he could average 29/9/8 in today's nba

[Reggie43]

Kukoc own estimates,


"I truly believe if I went somewhere where I handled the ball more, I would have easily averaged 20 [points], 7 [rebounds], and 7 [assists]," Kukoc said. "But I would never, ever change my time with the Bulls for All-Star Games or anything. If people say my numbers aren't enough for the Hall of Fame, I'm fine with that. Every player would give up anything to be a part of those teams. It was the best time of my career."

[Phoenix]

Kukoc own estimates,

Pretty much my estimates but I added a couple of points. He's right though, as 'the man' elsewhere he may have put up better solo numbers, maybe a few all star selections but largely forgettable. Being a key part of those Bulls teams makes him more memorable just due to the association with that team. Look at Dino Radja who came into the league with him. He maxed out at 20/10 on those Celtics squads and was a bridge between Reggie Lewis' untimely passing and before they drafted Pierce. Anyone remember or talk about him at all? Nope.

[Reggie43]

Pretty much my estimates but I added a couple of points. He's right though, as 'the man' elsewhere he may have put up better solo numbers, maybe a few all star selections but largely forgettable. Being a key part of those Bulls teams makes him more memorable just due to the association with that team. Look at Dino Radja who came into the league with him. He maxed out at 20/10 on those Celtics squads and was a bridge between Reggie Lewis' untimely passing and before they drafted Pierce. Anyone remember or talk about him at all? Nope.

Yeah you cant fault his reasoning for wanting to be on those teams and be part of the fame and success.

[Phoenix]

Yeah you cant fault his reasoning for wanting to be on those teams and be part of the fame and success.

And I wonder if coming up in Europe the idea of 'team' is drilled into these guys so being part of a championship team is more important than chasing individual glory. That's probably more of a North American thing when every 13 year old with talent is bombarded with visions of NBA stardom and shoe deals before they've dribbled a ball in the big leagues.

[PETRO2222]

Kukoc own estimates,

He would never change his time with Bulls? Fine, well, that costed him Hall of Fame now.

I am Croatian, as Kukoc, and Im sure that Toni Kukoc is not part of Hall of fame because of Bulls. If anyone from Europe deserves to be in Hall of fame, that's Kukoc, for everything he won back here in Europe, but because he played in Bulls, he payed the price.

[Reggie43]

And I wonder if coming up in Europe the idea of 'team' is drilled into these guys so being part of a championship team is more important than chasing individual glory. That's probably more of a North American thing when every 13 year old with talent is bombarded with visions of NBA stardom and shoe deals before they've dribbled a ball in the big leagues.

Yeah they always seemed more fundamentally sound and team oriented back then and know who they are as players compared to some of their american counterparts.

[1987_Lakers]

Why is no defense Kukoc guarding MJ in that clip? Damn, teams showed no respect for a past prime MJ. :lol

[SATAN]

Damn, thought it was a proper 1 on 1 match like this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B7U74Dg04k

Maybe history wouldn't have been so kind to MJ if offensive assassin John Rogers played for any of the opposing teams

[PETRO2222]

Why is no defense Kukoc guarding MJ in that clip? Damn, teams showed no respect for a past prime MJ. :lol

I think that medias and people overall are very ignorant about MJ days in Wizards, he was great there, I really love to watch him in Wizards, maybe it's just me, but I just loved his performance and moves and skills in Wizards, because he was relying totally on his skills from perimeter and post up moves etc... in age 38-40...and still he was averaging 22 points per game. Amazing.

[PETRO2222]

1999 team didn't do him any favours.

Yeah, that was an awful team, total disaster.

[Honor Boost]

Thank you PETRO, great post to review.

[WhiteKyrie]

Kukoc was a special player.

Under different circumstances he would have been leading a team. 6'10, matchup problem for anyone, could shoot, was long and could cause problems on defense at least on the help side of things. One of the best passers out there.

Given reign to run his own thing, he is probably a 24/6/6 type guy.
You clearly never watched Kukoc.

He was like a less athletic, not as good of a defender and slightly inferior ball handling version of Lamar Odom. No way could he lead a team. He’d give you 25 one night and then 8 - 15 the next three straight games.

He was never once an All Star.

At 30 years old (that’s prime) in the 1999 season he put up 19/7/5 as the teams best player and the team went 13-37. They were utterly putrid.

Where the hell are you getting 24/6/6

:oldlol: